Tetris increases brain efficiency

More fuel for the games-are-good-for-you argument:

Albuquerque, N.M.-based Mind Research Network said over the course of three months, it tracked adolescent girls who practiced playing Tetris. Compared to control subjects, these girls exhibited greater brain efficiency and a thicker cortex, as evidenced by brain scans.

Areas of the brain that showed thicker cortex were sections believed to play a role in “planning of complex, coordinated movements,” researchers said, and areas responsible for “coordination of visual, tactile, auditory, and internal physiological information.”

Other parts of the brain, which are associated with “critical thinking, reasoning, and language and processing,” also showed greater efficiency after practicing Tetris.

Via Serious Games Source. Photo by Hybridrain.